The town was creepy.

It had taken Jacob roughly thirty minutes to walk down the switchback stairs and to the edge of the town wall. It hadn’t helped that the trail was in poor condition. There had been cracks, potholes, dangerously steep bits, and even areas completely crumbled away by the elements. The Forsaken had almost died a second time on no less than three occasions and had a few cuts and bruises from the trip. Still, he’d gotten a good view of the town on the way down.

The town had two main roads in an irregular ‘T’ shape. The ‘short’ part of the T led into a cave the Forsaken was guessing was the mine for the town, into a main square, and then up to the Heretic Portal. The ‘long’ part of the T led out of the town, past the mountain half-edging the town, and then out of sight. The sides of the tall rock formation were spotted with dead pine trees. Looking up, Jacob could see what looked like a radio tower and a small building hanging above the Heretic Portal on a higher elevation. They have radio here? he thought in surprise. I was expecting sword and sorcery, Renaissance at best. But whoever lived here had at least AM transmitters. And wind turbines. What’s next, flying cars? Wait… don’t jinx myself. Find. Clothes. Shaking his head, Jacob walked up to one of the town’s three gates (all of which were open and in poor repair) and stepped into the town.

Everything had a dilapidated air, and the buildings had little character to distinguish themselves. Concrete, wood, and a little bit of metal here and there. Most buildings had a small wind turbine of their own connected to a box on the side of the structure, which kept nailing that this world was about as advanced as Jacobs’s own, if not more, considering they seemed to have magic portals. I bet life would have been much easier if Earth had magic portals. Of course, wars would have been a lot more convoluted when you could just jump your entire army across an ocean into the enemy homeland. Or do they have some sort of magic that… Jacob trailed off when he realized he was internally monologuing. It was hard to focus on the life-or-death situation he was in with the purple moon, which seemed to make him… happy. Or maybe just hyperactive. Still, it was distracting, and the Forsaken had to focus on something important: Breaking into a building and hopefully finding clothes.

Most of the residences around him were hastily boarded up with plywood, including the doors. Walking up to what looked like a ranch house made of an odd combination of concrete and hardwood, Jacob then tried peeling off the nailed-down board next to a door. How hard could it be after all? It was a flimsy piece of old wood with only a few nails in it.

Unfortunately, the dry climate had preserved the plywood exceptionally, and the plank was still in fighting shape. Jacob struggled for over five straight minutes until he broke off a piece of the board too small to fit through and too far away from the door to grab the handle. Looking down at his aching hands, Jacob saw that he’d rubbed his fingers raw with a few cuts oozing black blood. Yet another reminder I’m not human… Jacob thought gloomily, looking at the board in frustration. And I’ve done all that for nothing. I need to think smarter. How do I bash through the damn board without crippling my hands?

Then, his gaze landed on a rock.

It was large and blocky, made of the same sturdy stone as the small mountains surrounding the mining town. It had some sharp-looking edges and seemed to be perfect for bashing in the plywood board and, by default, the window. Grinning, Jacob lifted the rock with an ‘oomph’ and hefted it over to the board. Winding it up to his side, he swung the rock like a battering ram. The rock hit the board with a crack, creating a large dent in the side. YES! The Forsaken thought. He wound up for another swing when something caught his eye, hovering in the top left corner of his vision.

Stamina 67

Jacob was confused for a few seconds until he swung the rock again and watched his Stamina go down by another three points. Looks like I’ve got just enough Stamina to maybe break down this board, but I’m going to be exhausted from it. With a grunt, the rock was swung; Stamina went down by three points, and the plywood buckled just a little bit more.

By the time Jacob had broken down the window, he was breathing heavily, and his hands hurt like hell. However for his troubles, the board was busted down, and the Forsaken had managed to clear most of the glass off the sides of the windowsill. There was still some inside, but Jacob managed to avoid the razor-sharp edges and cutting himself. Looking around, Jacob realized he could see surprisingly well in the gloom, though there was a distinct lack of color in his vision. The Forsaken saw he was in a small dining room, plates and silverware knocked over as if whoever had lived here left in a hurry. Did somebody – or something – attack this place? If so, then why is everything boarded up and in such good condition? Something isn’t adding up here.Looking around, Jacob saw a kitchen across the room that looked ripped straight out of the 1950s. To be fair, the appliances were somewhat plainer than the time period they seemed to be emulating, but the basic form was there. Carefully walking over to the fridge, Jacob opened up the fridge… to find it empty. There’s no way whoever lived here had enough time to clear out their fridge based on how the wall looks… the Forsaken thought suspiciously. So either they had nothing in their fridge when they fled, or… whoever attacked here did all this defensive work and cleared out the fridge. Jacobs’s brow furrowed in thought. But who did all this?

Closing the fridge, Jacob saw that he had two more doors to go through. One was right next to the kitchen and appeared to be a bathroom – the other was likely a bedroom. Neither seemed like a good place to get weapons, but for all Jacob knew, there was a shotgun in the toilet. This world seemed advanced… advanced enough to have guns. It was a long shot, but the Forsaken would take it if he had it. Opening up the bathroom door, Jacob found himself in a small half-bathroom, its paint peeling and with no water in the toilet. Let’s hope I don’t need to use the bathroom anytime soon… Jacob thought to himself, exiting the room and closing the door.

And now, there was only one last door to open. Walking across the room, Jacob passed by and then paused at an old photograph. It was in black and white and seemed to show a family of four and a wolf-like dog. Or maybe just a wolf. Something about the joy and happiness in the photograph made the Forsaken… sad. He’d never really known his parents, both dying of cancer when he was a young teen. He’d never had that fulfilling or joyful of a life. It had always been the daily grind, go home, drink and watch TV, fall asleep, and then repeat. Perhaps my death was for the better… Jacob thought. I’d never accomplished much, and I might have died of cancer later on. This world may be confusing and intimidating… but I’ve got a clean slate. I can be a new Jacob. And from what the First Heretic said… I’ve got the chance to do great things.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Feeling a little better, Jacob opened up the door and looked into what was, in fact, a bedroom. A large spring mattress with dust-covered sheets took up most of the room, and a dresser with an old radio was the only other piece of furniture or decoration in the room. Walking over to the dresser, he pulled open one to see… thankfully men’s clothes. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Forsaken pulled out a pair of boxers, slipping them on and looking a little less inappropriate. After a few more minutes, Jacob was fully dressed, albeit looking dated by Earth’s standards. His clothing consisted of a set of high-riding denim jeans, a white button-up shirt, and a brown vest. He even had shoes, which were made of leather and had nails in the sole instead of the rubber and cloth the Forsaken was used to. Be grateful for what you have, Jacob, he thought to himself. He was about to leave the room when Jacobs’s gaze fell on the radio once more. The wind was strong outside if the moaning through the broken window said anything, and the building’s windmill seemed intact. Was the radio tower up near the Heretic Portal still working? Trepidatiously, however, fiddling with the dials only resulted in static. Crap… he thought, turning off the radio. Guess the station’s not working…

Then, a blue box popped up.

Secondary Quest gained [The (Air)Waves of Hope

Difficulty: I

Rewards: 10 XP

Description: The local automated radio station has been turned off for far too long. Restarting its broadcasts could bring hope back to this area of the Southern Borderlands once more.

Why so little XP? Jacob wondered. I’d have thought it would be worth more if I’m bringing hope to what I’m guessing is a large area… maybe I should check my map. Pulling it open, Jacob saw a large, meandering part of the center of the map. Still, nothing other than the town and the Heretic Portal was filled in, to his disappointment. Should I try this? Jacob wondered. Is 10 XP really worth going back up that damn trail? The answer was simple – Jacob was just starting out and any XP was worth it. I’ve got to find a weapon first, though. The house Jacob was in seemed to have a severe lack of weaponry – not even a steak knife. Something’s off here… the Forsaken thought. All the houses are fortified with nothing of value in them. There’s a deactivated ‘automated’ radio station above the town, and my current Quest is saying there’s likely something living here.

But what?

Jacob doubted he’d find those answers in the house, and since he had actual shoes now, it would likely be less of a challenge getting up the trail than going down. Exiting the bedroom, Jacob exited through the window, glass shards crunching under my feet. Standing outside the house, he could see that the purple moon was almost touching the horizon, and the sky in the opposite direction was lightening. For some reason, that made the Forsaken uneasy on a deep level. Please tell me I don’t burn up in the sun… Jacob thought nervously. That would be a poor way to end my Second Chance. He left the same way he’d entered and headed up the path once more.

Thankfully, the second trip was much easier than the first, and Jacob made it to the radio station just as the sky started to lighten. Beginning to feel nervous, Jacob strode up to the station door, which was surprisingly not boarded up, unlike the windows. Something seemed wrong about this, but the chance of getting his first chunk of XP and throwing some tunes back on the airwaves caused Jacob to reach for the knob. Twisting it open, Jacob pulled open the door, revealing a dusty, cobwebbed interior. Stepping inside, the Forsaken looked around and saw what looked like an antique computer, complete with a terminal and a generator. Stepping closer, Jacob saw that a large cable had been unhooked from the generator that looked like it was supposed to plug into the machine. Walking over and picking it up, Jacob turned the cable around in his hand, inspecting it. Looking over at the computer, he quickly found a plug that fit the generator cable. Hooking up the two, Jacob saw a large button on the console light up. Walking over, he tentatively pushed it. There was an audible beep, and then the terminal lit up. Walking over, Jacob could see the text was blue, similar to the boxes that held his character sheet. Reading the screen, the Forsakens brow furrowed.

Personality Type [Choose One]

-Proper

-Relaxed

-Cheerful

-Neutral

Note: Personality cannot be changed unless powered down. Memory will not be wiped after a personality change, but some confusion may be caused by restating information learned from a previous personality.

This world has AI with interchangeable personalities? Jacob thought in shock. This whole world is more advanced than Earth by… a lot, I guess. Now… which personality do I pick?

In the end, Jacob picked the ‘Relaxed’ personality simply because he liked the radio announcers who acted like everything they were saying was a breeze. It took a few minutes to decipher how exactly the terminal worked, but the Forsaken finally confirmed the selection. A ‘loading’ bar scrolled across the screen before the computer started whirring. A speaker next to a small table in the corner cracked before a smooth, male voice came out of the speaker.

“Hello, and thank you for tuning into 150.8, your best source for tunes, news, and local weather forecasting. Unfortunately, we seem to have been deactivated for a few decades, so you’ll have to wait on the news bit until I get into contact with my brother and sister stations. However, the tunes and weather will still be coming forth. My thanks to one Jacob Myers for turning me back on after those werewolves unhooked my power connector.”

Werewolves? Jacob thought. Wait, is that what the box meant by ‘not as abandoned as it seems?”

That question was answered when the Forsaken heard a low growling from behind him. With dread, Jacob turned around just as the sun peeked over the horizon. A large, anthropomorphic wolf stood there clutching a sawn-off shotgun. The Forsaken gulped, looking around for a weapon and finding nothing useable as such. The werewolf pointed the double-barrel at Jacob before opening its mouth and revealing long, pointed fangs.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” It demanded angrily.